Die Bäckerei, one of Innsbruck’s newest treasures, is the place to chill on a Sunday afternoon. Tucked away behind the Bogen and a short walk from Sillpark, Die Bäckerei is a place for everyone. I’m sitting here on one of the jumble of velour-patterned chairs that I can imagine my grandmother owning in the 60s, with my boots off and my laptop on my lap.
The large partly exposed brick-walled, partly tiled room in an unfinished look has large windows facing the street and the gorgeous blue sky. In the not-so-far distance the pure white snow reflects off Patscherkofl.
There is a pleasant murmur of chatter with groups of middle-aged women laughing over coffee, families with young children and groups of students. To my right are two women, one of them cradling a sleeping baby. Two of the children in the family straight ahead are wiping their mouths with paper kitchen towels. The father is now cleaning the fingers of his small son who is sitting on his lap. The guy who I am sharing a coffee table with has stopped scribbling in his book and is scratching his forehead whilst looking at his phone.
Two of the male students sitting near the entrance on a large comfy sofa are competing for the attention of the female student. Two other students are huddled over a smart phone exchanging furtive explanatory whispers of photos – photos from last night?
It’s 4:10 pm. More people come, look around and finding it full, leave with a look of jealousy and a promise that next Sunday they’ll come earlier. Die Bäckerei is a place to ‘verweilen’ … to come with friends, to come with family, or to come with the latest thriller or just your laptop. The bearded guy who I’m sharing a coffee table with is smiling at the baby who is now awake and gurgling away to himself.
My espresso macchiato has gone cold from people watching.
Of course you can enjoy a coffee whilst people watching at one of the finer establishments in Innsbruck, Café Schindler, Café Central or Katzung in the Altstadt but none of them has the atmosphere where you can take your shoes off and fold your legs on the chair, the lived-in cosiness, the genuine smiles of the helpful blonde waitress or even the jazz theme tune of Jeeves and Wooster!
Die Bäckerei Sunday Café – every Sunday from 3pm to 10pm
Die Bäckerei, Dreiheiligstrasse 21a, Innsbruck
For more information see www.diebaeckerei.at (unfortunately only in German)
By Dianne
